After being fired 90 games into his only season as Cubs manager in 1980, Preston Gomez admitted he had his doubts about taking the job on the second day of spring training.

"We had more unhappy players than I had seen on any team … and no kind of an organization," Gomez said. "I asked myself, 'What in the hell are you doing here?'"

Mike Quade could ask himself the same question after all he has gone through in his first year on the job, from players scuffling in the dugout in spring training to Carlos Zambrano's walkout nearly two weeks ago to the firing Friday of the general manager who picked him over Ryne Sandberg.

But before the Cubs 5-4 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night on the one-year anniversary of his first game as manager, Quade wasn't in a particularly reflective mood.

While conceding it has been a wild year, Quade said: "That's just what we have been up against here. We have gotten through a lot of tough times, and keep working to make them better. I felt that last year when I took over and I believe that now. I wish the record was better. I wish things had developed better.

"But there's nothing you can do about that now. Just try and make them better from here on out."